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Orba for Bluetooth MIDI - pairing failing

Hello Orba community.


Just received my Orba yesterday and I'm having a lot of fun with it so far. Very exciting!


However, I haven't been able to pair it with my Android devices or my Windows laptop via Bluetooth to use as a MIDI controller in FL Studio Mobile and FL Studio.


My laptop and my android devices can see the Orba in the list of possible Bluetooth devices to which to pair, but pairing always fails.


Anyone else running into this problem? Suggestions on a solution?


Thanks!


Brett


Hi Brett, Great to hear that! Please have look at the Bluetooth LE Midi section of the manual:


https://artiphon.com/pages/orba-user-manual


Bluetooth LE Midi does not connect the same way that standard Bluetooth does and Windows does not support it at all. Bluetooth LE Midi connections are done from the apps directly if they support it. We recommend using the USB cable for Windows connections.


Hi Arne,


Thanks for your reply.


I'm trying to connect my Orba to FL Studio Mobile on my Android tablet (Samsung Tab 8 with latest patches).


My Orba (powered up) does not show up in the list of options to which to connect within the FL Studio Mobile app (with MIDI over Bluetooth enabled).


It does show up in the Android Bluetooth list of devices (I know I can't connect to it that way, but at least I can see it there in the list so know that my tablet and Orba can see each other via Bluetooth).


Any suggestions on what I might be doing wrong with my Orba or inside FL Studio Mobile?


I followed the Orba manual to get this far with it.


Thanks for your help! The Orba is super fun!

The BluetoothLE Midi connection is not the same as a normal Bluetooth connection like for a speaker. The Bluetooth LE Midi Connection is done from an app directly. It is still a bit inconsistent on Android but here is a way that we have tried that works:


Go to the Google Play Store and install this app:


https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=bluetooth.midi.connect&hl=en_US


Open FL Studio- in the settings (right upper corner symbol) make sure that "Enable Midi over Bluetooth is active

Open the Bluetooth Midi Connect app

Scan and connect to Orba

Switch to FL Studio, go to settings, midi device

Select Artiphon Orba


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Thank you Arne.


The MIDI Connect app helped.


Getting the Bluetooth connection is still tricky.


Orba shows up in the Android Bluetooth scan sometimes, sometimes not.


Orba shows up sometimes in the MIDI Connect app, sometimes not.


And Orba shows up in FL Studio Mobile sometimes, sometimes not (always in conjunction with MIDI Connect).


When the stars align and it does show up in FL Studio Mobile, it works! I can control FL Studio Mobile with Orba.


I'll keep playing with it to figure out the sequence of steps that gets it all working.


Hopefully, Google will stabilize Bluetooth LE MIDI in Android over time. :)


Thanks again!

Hello, I’m trying to connect my Orba to the app on my IPhone 12 but my phone isn’t seeing the Orba (in either the system, Bluetooth set up or in the Orba app). Thank you for your help
Enable location services. You need it for Bluetooth LE.

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Hello, Thank you for your help. I was able to connect to my phone. However with the recent update my PC no longer has any info showing in the app when I turn it on. I appreciate the help, Josh

Bogenregner got it right, location on will help. Was about to give up and it worked like a charm!

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